Patient at North Manchester hospital being tested for Ebola

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Rochdale Infirmary, Royal Oldham, Fairfield and North Manchester hospitals, has issued a statement confirming a patient is being tested for Ebola.

The statement reads: "A patient in North Manchester General Hospital is undergoing a series of tests following travel to West Africa, as a precaution one of which is for Ebola.

"Our specially trained doctors and nurses are used to treating such patients, who may have a history of travel to West Africa. The patient is currently in our specialist clinical infectious diseases unit where they are being cared for in isolation, away from other patients."

Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness in humans - the average fatality rate is around 50% but has been up to 90% in previous outbreaks. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

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UPDATE 13/01/15

The test was negative, the patient does not have Ebola.

A Public Health England spokesperson said: “PHE can confirm it has undertaken precautionary tests relating to a patient presently at North Manchester General Hospital, who has a history of travel to West Africa.

"Ebola was considered unlikely but testing was being done as a precaution, and was negative.”